Alan James Whiticker (born 1958) is an Australian non-fiction author and publisher, with over 50 published books on history, sport, biography, true crime and lifestyle. Whiticker writes primarily on matters pertaining to the history of the sport of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

in Australia, but he has also published works on subjects as diverse as classical film,

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

, the

Wanda Beach Murders The Wanda Beach Murders, sometimes referred to simply as "Wanda", is the case of the unsolved murders of Marianne Schmidt and Christine Sharrock at Wanda Beach near Cronulla in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on 11 January 1965. The victims ...

and an adaptation of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

''. He is a former teacher and

commissioning editor In book publishing, a commissioning editor is essentially a buyer. It is the job of the commissioning editor to advise the publishing house on which books to publish. Usually the actual decision of whether to contract a book is taken by a senior ma ...

for a publishing company but now works as a freelance writer.

Early life and education

Whiticker was born in

Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...

on 15 December 1958. He attended

St Dominic's College, Penrith , motto_translation = The Lord is my Light , location = Penrith , city = Western Sydney , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , established = , educational_authority = New South Wales Department of Education , ...

and

Nepean College of Advanced Education Nepean College of Advanced Education was an Australian higher education institution (College of Advanced Education) from 1973 to 1989. It was formed on 5 November 1973 by the amalgamation of the Westmead Teachers' College, which had opened in 196 ...

(now

Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

), where he obtained a Diploma of Teaching in 1979 and a Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree in 1985. He later obtained his master's degree in Education (Administration) in 1997. Before writing full-time, he worked as a primary school teacher and assistant principal at Catholic schools in Western Sydney for 30 years, and lectured at Western Sydney University in 2008.

Rugby league works

* ''The History of the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in t ...

'', Sherborne Sutherland Publishing, 1988 * ''The History of The

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. The club competes in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in the ...

'' (with Greg Anderson), Sherborne Sutherland Publishing, 1988 * ''Grand Finals of the New South Wales Rugby League'', Gary Allen, 1992 * ''The

Terry Lamb Terence John Lamb (born 15 September 1961), also nicknamed "Baa", is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played 350 games, with the Western Suburbs (1980–1983) and Canterbury (1984–1996). Lamb was known for his su ...

Story'', Gary Allen, 1992 * ''Rugby League Test Matches in Australia'' (with Ian Collis), Sydney: ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1994 * ''From the Bush to Brookvale: The

Cliff Lyons Cliff Lyons (born 19 October 1961) is an indigenous Australian former international rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Clive Churchill Medalllist and two-time Dally M Medallist, he made 309 first-grade appearances wit ...

story'', Gary Allen, 2000 * ''Hooked on League:

Royce Simmons Royce Michael Simmons (born 2 May 1960) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A one-club man, he played as a for the Penrith Panthers in the NSWRL from 1980 to 1991, winning a premiership in his final season. ...

'', Gary Allen, 2001 * ''Mat Rogers: Off The Wing On A Prayer'' (with Mat Rogers), ESM Sports, 2002 * ''The History of Rugby League Clubs'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2004 * ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland Publishers, 2004 * ''100 Years of Rugby League'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2007 * ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'' (with Glen Hudson, 6th Edition), Gary Allen, 2007 * ''Rugby League: 100 Years in Pictures'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2008 * ''The Top 10 of Rugby League'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2010 * ''Rugby League Through the Decades'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2011 * ''Glory Days: The Story of South Sydney's Golden Era'', New Holland Publishers, 2011 * ''101 Great Rugby League Players'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2012 * ''Rugby League: Every Premiership Match'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2013 * ''Mud, Blood and Beer: Rugby League in the 1970s'', New Holland Publishers, 2016 * ''The State of Origin Companion: Interstate Rugby League Since 1908'', New Holland Publishers, 2020 * ''League on Sunday, Work on Monday'' (with Tony Loxley and Ian Collis), Full Throttle Publishing, 2020 * ''Very Tough Men: Rugby League in the 1980s'' (with Tony Loxley), Full Throttle Publishing, 2021 * ''Tommy: The Extraordinary Career of Tommy Raudonikis'', New Holland Publishers, 2021

True crime

* ''Wanda: The Untold Story of the Wanda Beach Murders'', New Holland Publishers, 2003 * ''Twelve Crimes That Shocked The Nation'', New Holland Publishers, 2005 * ''Searching for the

Beaumont Children Jane Nartare Beaumont (born 10 September 1956), Arnna Kathleen Beaumont (born 11 November 1958) and Grant Ellis Beaumont (born 12 July 1961), collectively known as the Beaumont children, were three Australian siblings who disappeared from Glen ...

: Australia's Most Famous Unsolved Mystery'', John Wiley & Sons Australia, 2006 * ''Crimes of the Century'', New Holland Publishers, 2006 * ''Another 12 Crimes that Shocked the Nation'', New Holland Publishers, 2007 * ''

Derek Percy Derek Ernest Percy (15 September 1948 – 23 July 2013) was an Australian suspected serial killer and convicted child killer who was also a person of interest linked to the mysterious deaths and disappearances of multiple children in the 1960s, i ...

: Australian Psycho'', New Holland Publishers, 2008 * ''Unsolved Crimes: The cases that haunt Australia'', New Holland Publishers, 2009 * ''The Satin Man: uncovering the mystery of the missing Beaumont children'' (with Stuart Mullins), New Holland Publishers, 2013 * ''I Survived Kerobokan'' (with Paul Conibeer), New Holland Publishers, 2014, * ''

Anita Cobby Anita or ANITA may refer to: Arts * ''Anita'' (1967 film), an Indian film * ''Anita'' (2009 film), an Argentine film * ''Anita'' (2021 film), a Hong Kong film *'' Anita: Swedish Nymphet'', a 1973 erotic film People *Anita (given name), people w ...

: The Crime that Shocked the Nation'', New Holland Publishers, 2015

Other works

*''

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...

: Say It Loud'' (with Jimmy Barnes), Gary Allen, 2002 *''The Battle of Troy: an Adaptation of Homer's Iliad'', illustrated by Giovanni Caselli, New Holland Publishers, 2004 *''Speeches That Shaped the Modern World'', New Holland Publishers, 2005 *''Speeches That Reshaped the Modern World'', New Holland Publishers, 2008 *''

Shannon Noll Shannon Noll (born 16 September 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter who first came to prominence as runner-up of the first season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. He has released five top ten albu ...

: So Far'', New Holland Publishers, 2012 *''The Way We Were'', New Holland Publishers, 2013 *''British Pop Invasion'', New Holland Publishers, 2014 *''Retro New York'', New Holland Publishers, 2015 *''Speeches That Defined the World'', New Holland Publishers, 2016 *''The Classics: The Greatest Films of the 20th Century'', New Holland Publishers, 2016 *''Classic Albums That Changed My Life: The Vinyl That Made A Generation'', New Holland Publishers, 2018 *''Don't Die Wondering: the Pat Webster Story'', New Holland Publishers, 2019 *''The Immortals of Australian Horse Racing'', Gelding Street Press, 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiticker, Alan 1958 births Australian non-fiction writers Living people Australian Catholic University alumni Australian non-fiction crime writers